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Hong Kong police have investigated a lawyer who took a photo of himself in the High Court, but have decided not to prosecute him.

Lawyer Junius Ho took the selfie outside the Hong Kong High Court during a client's bail application in April 2016. He uploaded the picture to his public Facebook page with a caption supporting his client: "Inside Court No.28 ... hang in there Uncle Pui". A court staffer reported him since local legislation forbids people taking photos in court.

After a year of vital criminal investigation, a police spokesman has announced that the case has been dropped on advice from the Department of Justice.

Ho told local newspaper Ming Pao that he wasn't acting in contempt of court, and that the court staff member who reported him did so out of malice. However, despite being free to snap another day, Ho's actions have attracted some negative feelings in the legal community. Fellow lawyer Kevin Yam told the Hong Kong Free Press that Ho's comment about the staffer was "ungracious, unrepentant, uncouth and displays a smallness of mind and attitude that is entirely unbecoming of someone of his status.”

Ho, a former president of the Hong Kong Law Society, is no stranger to the art of the selfie and appears to have a camera permanently attached to his arm as illustrated by his public Facebook page:

Ho sneaks in front of the court

Ho sneaks in front of the pap

Ho sneaks in front of a shop

Ho sneaks in front of some ladies

Ho sneaks in front of a meeting

Ho sneaks in front of a plumber

Ho sneaks in front of a man trying to eat his dinner

Ho said of his infamous selfie in court that "anyone with a sane mind could see that the photo was not inappropriate at all".